For-Profits Fixing Social Ills

Back in February, we asked readers
to tell us about entrepreneurs building promising businesses that tackle social
ills. Over the past three months, Bloomberg Businessweek.com reporters and
editors narrowed the more than 200 suggestions we got to 25 private, for-profit
social enterprises. We selected companies by examining their impact,
innovation, and business success. Some are multimillion-dollar enterprises;
others are startups with big ideas, from affordable housing for senior citizens
to apps to aid health-care workers in the developing world. Read through the profiles of these social ventures—then vote for the most promising before July 12 (the voting page is also available at the end of the slide show). We'll announce the top five vote-getters on July 19.